1. Copyright Emory University, 2003. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

2. The Human Factor: More than Technical Considerations in a Web Site Redesign June 19, 2003

3. One Year Ago… Web development requires careful planning: design, navigation, content, infrastructure Today’s web users require: Attractive, consistent design Attractive, consistent design User-friendly navigation User-friendly navigation Current, dynamic, interactive content Current, dynamic, interactive content Our organization requires: Multiple users, groups, templates Multiple users, groups, templates User-friendly content creation, no HTML User-friendly content creation, no HTML Will it all work? We’ll let you know….

4. Problems Solved, Right?

5. Wrong! We left out the human factor

6. Today… Web development requires careful management of contributors, work flow, ownership Today’s web authors require good documentation, training, and an explicit production schedule Our organization requires a sustained dialogue on issues of self-presentation and a vision of services across the enterprise Did it all work? Yes!, but, here’s what we learned….

7. Developers’ Naiveté In Design In Process In Production

8. Naiveté: Design Design by committee Planned and designed simultaneously rather than planning first Planned and designed simultaneously rather than planning first Everyone had a suggestion Everyone had a suggestion Inability to get higher-level feedback Never-ending tweaking of nonessential elements (colors, fonts, dummy text, etc.) Never-ending tweaking of nonessential elements (colors, fonts, dummy text, etc.)

14. Naiveté: Process New “Persona” of IT for Division Little internal service documentation and web experience – “not my job” Little internal service documentation and web experience – “not my job” Those with experience don’t want to lose control Those with experience don’t want to lose control New “Persona” of IT for University No precedent for institutional perspective on IT No precedent for institutional perspective on IT Partners reluctant to participate Partners reluctant to participate

15. Naiveté: Process IT web redesign necessitates organizational review Totally out of web design team’s control Totally out of web design team’s control Defined “Products & Services” list required to match billing model Defined “Products & Services” list required to match billing model Many organizational discussions determine how IT presents itself to community Many organizational discussions determine how IT presents itself to community

16. Naiveté: Process Didn’t anticipate major organizational change New Client Services Group (Help Desk) with a different vision for “Help” New Client Services Group (Help Desk) with a different vision for “Help” Difficulty presented by ongoing changes in personnel and handoffs Difficulty presented by ongoing changes in personnel and handoffs New web site not a priority… “Content Coordinator’s Group” New web site not a priority… “Content Coordinator’s Group”

17. Naiveté: Production If we build it they will come? Those who knew HTML were reluctant to give up their freedom; those who didn’t were unable to contribute Knowledgeable users were frustrated by restrictions; novice users were intimidated by using a web app

18. Naiveté: Production Without fixed (realistic) timetable and deadline, nothing ever gets finished Design team developing site was focused on “big picture” of IT, not a service-by- service web presence Underestimating variety of roles and permissions for contributors

27. Abiding Lessons Managing web work is as difficult as managing work in the real world Issues of self-representation are extremely complex, and bring out a strong response from participants All the forces you contend with in the real world are the same as you contend with in the web world

28. Never Underestimate the Human Factor!

29. Live from Atlanta http://it.emory.edu